Welcome to our series on KID PANTS. All the styles that are shared are adaptable to any size pants….from babies up to adults; for boys and girls. We’ll show you the ins and outs of making pants and we’ve got a downloadable pattern for size 2-3 toddler.Today we’re starting with the Basic Pant, with an elastic casing waistband. This is similar to a pair of comfy pajama pants or a sweat suit. But don’t let those terms scare you! Even a pair of basic pants can look cool and fashionable paired with other accessories.And when you’re ready to mix it up, try out our other simple pants tutorials:

But first, let’s talk about pants.Elastic waist-band pants/shorts are one of the easiest things to make. I think it was the first real project I sewed for myself as a teenager. Once you figure it out, you will turn your nose up at similar pants in the store, realizing that they are ripping you off at those prices! You just need to understand how pants are put together. And then it’s like riding a bike….you will never forget.

Pants are made of 4 pieces (2 different pattern pieces). The best way to understand this is to study your own pair of pants and see how they’re put together; maybe even cut up a junk pair of pants. I have been making basic pants for my son since he was born. My pattern keeps growing and adjusting (since he seems to grow up and not out). It’s easy to make your own pattern, using our pattern drafting tutorial HERE, or you can download our Kid Pants pattern later in the tutorial.If you’ve never made pants before and you’re drafting your own pattern (from an existing pair of pants), you may want to sew a trial pair first….just to see if you’re creating the pattern properly. You don’t have to sew this trial pair all the way to the end (unless they’re adorable of course) but this will allow you to make changes to your pattern before cutting into your nice fabric.

And that’s all you need to understand about pants. Let’s get cutting and sewing!First, you need a pattern. You can create your pattern using our Tutorial HERE. OR….Download and print off our pdf patternHERE! It’s a size 2T-3T (appx 2 years old to 3 or 3 1/2 years old) and uses about 1/2 to 1 yard of fabric.THE PATTERN SHOULD BE PRINTED IN “LANDSCAPE” FORMAT * You’ll automatically be prompted to open the 1-page pdf in Preview * Save and/or print the doc to your home printer

What I love about this pattern: * Style and comfort. There are many patterns out there that use the same pattern piece for the front and back legs. It’s a simple way to sew pants. However, these types of pants often look bulky and less tailored to me. The pattern I’ve drafted has a slightly larger crotch on the back piece (to accommodate booty). But they’re still just as easy to sew! And the best part is the waistline! It’s cut lower in the front so the waistline isn’t gouging into a baby belly and overall, the pants look more flattering.* Added length. The legs on these pants are extra long, giving you more options with the hem. If you sew a very wide hem on these, you can let the hem down as your child grows so the pants last even longer.Pattern NOTE 1: My son is a skinny 3 year old and these pants fit him perfectly, with underwear or with a disposable diaper, and there’s a little room for him to grow. If your child uses cloth diapers or is a bit heftier, you’ll need to make adjustments by expanding the waist and legs. If you’d like to make a smaller size, slim down all around on the pattern and with a bit of trial/error, you should be good!Pattern NOTE 2: There is a dotted line on the pattern labeled “Flat Front”. This is to make flat front pants, explained HERE in the step-by-step tutorial.Pattern NOTE 3: This pattern is not for commercial use or monetary gain. I don’t mind if you use my instructions to aid in your own pants-making for a small shop, but please draft your own pattern when making these for profit. Print and Pattern Prep:– Print the pattern from your computer.PRINT IN LANDSCAPE setting (horizontal). There are 6 pages total–3 pages for the Front of the pants and 3 pages for the Back of the pants. Each page will fill on an entire 8 1/2 x 11, standard sheet of paper. If your paper standard is a different size, the images may be slightly off but you should be able to make out the image fairly well.– Line up the pattern pages together–matching up the arrows and letters with each other. Do NOT overlap pages. Just butt them right up next to each other and tape them together. And you’re done! Pattern is ready to go!

Let’s talk about fabrics. I’ve made these pants from all types of cotton and linen. For this pair I used a black/white cotton seersucker–one of my favorite fabrics of all time. Seersucker breathes well, drapes well, looks darling on kids, and just screams summer.Fabrics to use (* appx 1/2 to 1 yard of fabric, depending on the size): Cotton – all types Linen Seersucker (pictured above) Stripes/plaids Knits Corduroy Chambray Lightweight denim * Print off the pattern first, make any adjustments for your child’s size, and you’ll know how much fabric is needed. I used a 1/2 yard for this pair.Okay, with your pattern printed, taped, and cut… Fold your fabric in half and lay out the pattern. You don’t need to cut anything “on the fold” but you do need TWO Front pieces and TWO Back pieces. Make sure your fabric is folded with the right or wrong sides of your fabric together so that you end up with two Backs that are opposites…the crotches facing in opposite directions. Trace your pattern to the fabric using a fabric pen or marker. And cut out the pattern pieces from your fabric.There are various methods for sewing pants. This is the easiest method for my hands and brain, and the way I sew pants (almost) every time. Since your front and back pieces are already together, start by sewing down both of the crotches. If your fabric has a Right side to it (mine does not–both sides of my fabric look the same), make sure you flip the pieces before sewing so that the Right sides of the fabric are facing each other.Using a 3/8 inch seam allowance, start at the waist and sew to the end of the crotch (or vice versa; doesn’t matter). Do this for both front pieces and both back pieces. Serge off the seams (to keep it from fraying over time) and iron out the seams. * If you don’t have a serger….do a zigzag stitch or leave the seam raw * Always, always iron your seams. It will make your clothing look more professional and less homemade.The front and back of your pants should look like this:With Right sides of the fabric together, pin the Front and Back pieces together on the In-seam of the legs and sew them together. Start at the bottom of one leg and sew all the way up to the crotch and back down the other leg, in one continuous seam. Serge off and iron out your seam.They’re already looking like pants! Easy, right?With right sides of the fabric together, pin together the outside legs of the pants.If you have a small side tag, add it to the outside seam, a few inches from the bottom of the leg. And sew down both sides of the pants.Serge off and iron out your seams.Let’s make the waistband. Serge all the way around the waist to finish off the edge and prevent it from fraying over time. If you don’t have a serger, iron the waistband under 1/4 inch, or finish it off with a zigzag stitch.It should look like this. Notice how the front of the pants in a couple inches shorter. This makes the pants more comfortable and well-fitted.Elastic. I prefer a wider waistband on my kid’s pants so I always use 1-inch wide elastic. But 1/2 or 3/4 inch work well too. Measure around your child’s waist to determine the length of the elastic, and then add 1 inch to that–for overlap and sewing. My son’s waist is 19 inches, so I cut 20 inches of elastic.Iron the waistband down to create a casing for the elastic. Use the elastic to measure how wide the band needs to be–it should be about 1/4 inch wider on the top and bottom than the elastic. Mark a start and stop point on your waistband with pins–this is where the elastic will go in and out. Start at one point and sew all the way around to the other point to make a casing.Don’t worry if you get any gathers or folds in the waistband. This may happen, due to the pattern and the way the waistband slopes down in front. But no worries! The waist is going to be gathered with elastic and no one will ever notice!If you’re really concerned though, you can try smoothing the glitches out with a fingernail.Time to insert the elastic. Attach a safety pin or Bodkin to one end of the elastic. Insert the elastic into the waistband casing and use another safety pin to attach it to the other end of the pants opening–so the elastic isn’t lost inside the pants. Feed the elastic all the way through till it comes out the other end.Before sewing the elastic together, safety pin the two ends together and try the pants on your child to see if adjustments need to be made.If all is well, overlap the elastic ends by 1 inch and sew them together. I use a tight zigzag stitch and sew in a couple of spots.* If you’ve sew the elastic and the pants are too big, cut the elastic, cut out a small bit of the elastic–about 1 inch– and resew the ends together.* If you’ve sewn the elastic and the pants are too small, cut the elastic, and sew in another small piece of elastic, adding more length to your waist.

Sew the casing closed by pulling the waistband taut and sewing off the opening. If you have a clothing label (info on my labels here), add one to the back or inside of the waistband (before sewing the waistband closed)One final step!–hemming the pants. Try the pants on your child to determine the hem length. Or, use a pair of existing pants to measure the length.If you make a wide hem, you’ll be able to let down the hem as your child grows taller.

Serge around the bottom of each pant leg to finish off the edge and keep it from fraying over time. If you don’t have a serger, do a zigzag stitch or iron the edge under 1/4 of an inch. Iron the hem under to your desired length. Sew the hem in place, sewing on the inside of the hem to make sure you catch the entire hem. For decorative aesthetic, sew a second line on the outside of the hem, about 1/4 over from the first hemline.And…..you’re done!Try them on!Make a few phonecalls,Pretend you’re in a boy band,and enjoy your cool comfy pants!Then make a few more pairs. This pattern is so easy and fun, you might become addicted. Use the pattern to make baby gifts, for pjs, for church pants, for yourself! And try out our other KID PANTS variations:

Jodi I basically had the same thing. I rescaled the pattern on my printer and it came up to be the right length, but couldn’t fit around his legs and butt. So I basically took the pattern that I printed at 85% and put it with the regular size. I put the point of the crotch seem identical to the regular pattern and used the length. The pants fit him, though they are still long, but that’s ok.

Just Use a pair that fit your child as a pattern. If you fold the pants just like the pattern piece you can trace them onto a piece of paper. I use a roll of brown mailing paper from the dollar store or that twisted up broown paper from amazon.com packages.

Just made these pants today in black and white seersucker and they are so precious! I just wanted to say thanks for this tutorial, I am a beginner at seeing and this whole project took less than 2 hours from start to finish. I just wish there was a way to send you a pic of my sweet baby Dane in his new pants at his 2nd birthday party today!

Candace, It doesn’t match up unless you tape the pages together at the bottom to the top of the following page. Don’t try to line up the pattern lines. Just place the second page right next to the top at the edges, then tape.

Jodi and Candace, I suggest making your own pattern using a pair of your child’s pants that fit them now. The tutorial above shows how to do this. I did it roughly, freehand, leaving a generous seam allowance and my pants look great. Good luck!

I made these today for my 3 yr old Grandson, in flannel. My Husband got me a sewing machine for Christmas and these were my 2nd project. Thank you for the pattern and the easy to follow instructions. I’ll definitely make more. I’m very pleased with how they turned out. I have some practicing to do to make the inside look nicer, but my Grandson hasn’t taken them off all day, so at least they meet his approval! Thanks again!

I just wanted to say thank you for this amazing pattern. My little guy is so skinny that it’s tough to find pants that fit him, much less look cute. I’ve made him several pair using this pattern and every single time he has gotten compliments! I can’t believe I made them! LOL It’s the perfect pattern for a beginner like me.

Loved the tutorial! Just sewed my first ever pair of clothing. 🙂 However… Next time, could you please use a fabric that isnt the same on the inside as outside? I was terribly confused a few times because, as a newbie, I couldnt tell which side was which that I should be sewing! Just an FYI. 🙂

Thanks so much. I just finished these pants for my almost three year old daughter. They are so gorgeous and it took me only two hours. I started sewingfor the first time ever just last week and these are my first garment. I can’t believe I made them. Of course thanks to you and your great tutorial. Many, many thanks

Thanks so much for the amended printing directions…the first time I tried a while back they were way small, so I attempted to draft larger sizes and had a hard time with the fit. So reprinted today and got it right. Been wanting to try these for years for my 2 boys, thanks. These will be so fun…saving lots of $ too! This gave me a whole new appreciation for all the effort it takes to draft. You saved us a ton of hard work.

Dana, you are an ANGEL!! Thank you so much for sharing your talent and your time into making these wonderful handcrafted creations! Can I say that I just love you?? I wish you all the best in the world!!

I’m just learning to sew and wanted to make some simple PJs. I reviewed a ton of methods, web sites and videos –and yours is by far the best. Thanks for the great detailed explanation and making it look so easy. By following your directions, it actually was!

Just love the your tutorials and website. I immediately repurposed some of my husbands knit shirts for shorts for my twin boys. Quick and easy. The photos of your tutorials are easy to follow. I just started using a serger, too. This is great practice.

Just made my first pair of pajama bottoms using this as a guide. I’m sewing for an 8 yr old so I used one of her pairs of pants as a pattern, but your step-by-step instructions really helped it all make sense in my head. Thanks for that! A few more pajamas as practice and then I’ll step up my game and fabric choice and make some cute Summer shorts!

I want to add my thanks to this list! My friend’s little boy is skinny and she couldn’t find trousers to fit. I’ve just made apair and will take them over for a fitting tomorrow! I am an absolute beginner and made these in a few hours! Your instructions & photos are fantastic. Thanks, Sissy

Thank you SO much! I have twin 3year old boys that are in between sizes right now. One absolutely HATES shorts and refuses to wear them when it’s hot. since summer is right around the corner, I want to make some using old tshirts.

Thanks for sharing this. I love it and want to make these for myself and my 5 year old son. He wears 4T and some 5Ts. Do you recommend I add width and length to your pdf pattern, use your tutorial or use his existing fitting pants for a pattern.

My 3 yr old is very slim waisted & so I tried to make these narrower -but I have ended up with a very snug pair of trousers in thin linen that look like pjs! But that’s fine, 1st attempt and all. Next time I’m going for something a bit tougher & bolder..but the pattern was brilliantly easy to follow, so I’ll be going again & again!

I never post anything on these sites, but I really wanted to THANK YOU for providing such simple patterns for FREE. I’ve used a couple of your tutorials so far and find them easy to follow, which is great since I’m new to sewing. I love all the things you make!

i love this pattern, its so easy to follow, i found that the trousers were a bit tight for my skinny two year old but thats probably down to my sewing, i made them out of girly flowery cotton and elasticated the bottom of the legs to make nice summery trousers (not that we get much sun in uk but i’m being optimistic) and her reaction was “oh wow” and she can take them off for potty so good all round, will definetly be making more, thanx, loved making the simple skirt too! you are inspirational!

Thank you for this tutorial! It helps me a lot that you captured each step visually (and up close!). I’m a visual person and I can better appreciate instructions in pictures and words. I’m so excited to go out and buy my fabric today even if it’s raining outside!

Dana, thanks for the pattern and tutorial – my 17month twins are quite opposite in build, one is a chunk and the other is a beanpole. I knew I would probably have to make some adjustments, but these fit like a skinny on my little man. I’m wondering if somehow I could have printed the pattern wrong (I had my husband print it a second time). What are the finished waist measurements on your pants? I adapted the pattern and made two more pair that seem like they will work great, a relaxed fit with room to grow on my chunk, I just feel I must have done something wrong on the pattern originally. (*I did make the flat front version which obviously has less ease)

Thank you for this pattern! I have made several pair of pants for my tall 2 year year old! I have never made clothing before so your tutorial made it very easy! I am very proud of the finished product and they look so cute! Today I made him some denim pants using the flat front pattern. The waist band was very simple to do and looks very nice! Thank you for your lovely blog!

Have made several pairs of these and the shorts….super quick, 10 minutes and your done! My daughter and grandsons love them. I make them from old t-shirts and they make fantastic play-in-the-dirt clothes or jammies. Great directions!

LOVE your site and all the tutorials…seriously love them. I have a question about your seam allowances…do you include that on your patterns AND is 3/8″ your standard (it seems like all store bought patterns I used to use were 5/8″ typically). Just want to make sure I’m following all the steps right! Thanks so much! Jennifer

I was also wondering whether the seam allowance was included in the pattern (I assumed so) — but just made a pair of these and whoa, are they little! No way these will fit my 22 month old! Not sure what I’ve done wrong…but I’m really disappointed my first attempt hasn’t worked 🙁 The only thing I can think of is the pattern somehow wasn’t printed large enough.

QUESTION: Please could you tell us what the dimensions of the pattern should be when all taped together? Waist, hips & leg length would all help to know we’re on the right track…and perhaps help someone from wasting their gorgeous fabric as I’ve just done. Didn’t think I needed to make a toile for such simple trousers.

Hi Dana, Thank you so much for sharing with us all your wonderful ideas!…I am having such a difficult time converting the basic pants pattern to a larger size. I truly love the “lower waistline” in the front, but I have not been successful in “converting” it to the pattern. Could you share with us how you took the measurements and created the pattern? As you can tell, I’m pretty new to sewing. Thanks again!

I have made many items that have been unwearable! Then I found this site. I made 2 pair of pants for my kids yesterday and they can wear both!! Yeah!!! I even made my own pattern. Love it, so much easier for me. Patterns are confusing. Thanks for the great site!

Thanks so much for this tutorial and pattern. We just adopted a 2 yr old. He is tall forhis age but underweight. He has been impossible to fit. With only minor adjustments these are perfect! I am so excited to finally have pants that fit him and I even made them! Thanks so much.

I just made these for my son and wanted to share how I finish the seams without a serger: First, sew the WRONG sides together using the tiniest seam allowance possible. Second, turn RIGHT sides together and press the seam flat either with an iron or just your thumbs and sew. This way, the ragged edge is enclosed within the seam and it makes for a beautiful finished product, both inside and out. Plus, kids are so hard on their things, a reinforced seam is never a bad idea! I also would add a little bit more fabric at he top of the pattern to make a longer rise front and back if you cloth diaper; there’s not a lot of room in the seat of these pants without it. Thanks for he wonderful tutorial; I’m off to make my second pair now!!

Thank you!! Thank you for the wonderful tutorials! Made this pants four times! Just started sewing and patterns make me crazy!! Your instructions are easy to fallow and seem logical to me:) thank you again!

Thank you for this great tutorial! I am a novice sewer & was able to make my own pattern for the pants from my daughters. She will have some really cool pirate pants this Halloween thanks to this tutorial. So proud of myself for completing it now on to the vest. Argh!

My 2 1/2 year old is too skinny for store bought pants so I made him two pairs today from your tutorials – flat front with pockets from corduroy and a lined pair made of flannel. They both turned out great and were so easy thanks to the great tutorials. I thought the flat front pants and the pockets would be hard – but were not at all! Thank you!

I practice elimination communication (infant pottying) with my baby and wanted to make some pairs of pants with undies built in so they both come down together at potty time. I had already drafted a pattern for tiny little undies and noticed that, to fit really well, the front waist is about 3″ lower than the back, even on a small baby. I wanted to use this undies pattern for the all-in-one pants but knew I’d need to find (or make) a pattern that accounted for the lower front. I was so relieved to find these instructions! I will need to modify them, but it’s so much easier than starting from scratch! Thanks so much for making your pattern available.

This tutorial saved me from pulling out my hair and throwing my sewing machine out the window! I was sewing pants from a pattern, but the instructions were terribly unclear. Your pictures and directions made it so much easier. Thank you!!!

I made one pair for my 2-year-old son as jammies, but they’re for Christmas so he won’t get them for a few more weeks. I’m excited to make MANY more since I like pull-on pants for potty-trained toddlers and don’t want him always in jogging pants. So excited to find some cool fabrics…!

Thanks for the pattern and detailed instructions. I’m a new sewer who found your tutorial while searching the Internet for something simple to sew for practice (I don’t even have children!). Your instructions were so helpful–thanks again!

I just had to thank you for this tutorial because I know I’d have to fight the guilt for the rest of my life if I don’t. My son will be a year old in 5days time and I have been trying to make him a pair of pants but I never got it right until I came across your tutorial. Thank you so so much. Words can’t express just how grateful I am.

I do have a quick question. You may not have an answer, and that’s ok too. I cut out the pattern exactly, but when I sew the pieces together, around the waist, the 4 corners do not all match-up. i understand that the front comes down a little, but there’s 1/4″ where the corners don’t match-up. Any thoughts?

Thank you for all your amazing ideas. I just ordered some of the oil cloth you used in your kitchen. Looking forward to making a splash with some grocery bags!

Wow! This was exactly what I needed! I’m going to wait to get my Jo~Ann Coupon and then I’m headed off to get some dress pant type fabric to match a vest I just made him! I also am working on a wolf tie, sooooo I can have a whole set! (well except a dress shirt…those look hard for me since I’m kinda a beginner) Thanks sooo much!

Just made a pair of these for my three-year-old daughter, and they are awesome! These were my first pair of pants, and they were very easy to make. They were just a bit long for her, but instead of shortening them, I just sewed a wide hem so I can let them down as she grows. Thank you so much for this great pattern and tutorial.

Pssst….if you are making this pattern as Dana has provided it in a size 2-3T, it fits PERFECTLY on a standard pillowcase. Just place the pattern pieces on the pillowcase, trace around them, pin the 2 layers together in a few places, and cut. There is not enough fabric to make pockets, but you can use fun novelty fabric for those and you only need a tiny bit!

Pillowcases and sheets are easy to sew with, launder well, and come in so many interesting colors and patterns, especially if you only need one. Good luck mamas!

OMG, Dana, thank you! I was so afraid of sewing, but always dreamed of creating clothes. Some months ago I finally purchased Janome sewing machine and then found this magnificent tutorial. I still can’t believe how easy it was to follow your tutorial and actually sew wearable clothes. So proud of myself!

Thanks for sharing this! My son was in need of pants and I sewed 3 pairs for him using the pattern and tutorial. These were so quick and fun to make and they look great on my 2 year old. Thanks so much for sharing your talents. Your so inspiring!

I love these! I have made a few pairs in fleece to help my 3 year old through our freezing English winter. They cost me about £4 a pair to make and can be made in an afternoon (They would cost me twice as much to buy in shops). My son loves choosing the colours and watching them come together, we add motifs to the pockets and contrast stitching. I feel a pair in linen coming on for the summer! Thanks for the ideas, please keep them coming!

Dear Dana, I just wanted to thankyou so very much. I followed your make a pattern instructions, and made a pair of these for my sensory challenged ASD 7 year old (sensitive to so many materials / elastics / tight clothing, etc). She loved them – and this is a kid that I haven’t been able to get into long pants for 8 months. I haven’t sewed since school, about 25 years ago, and I wasn’t much interested then. I’m kinda here out of desperation now! I consulted your tutorial so many times, checking everything so carefully, and was amazed at how well they turned out. My next step with my newly found confidence is to explore seams, and see if I can fake / approximate / approach a flatlocked seam with a very cheap sewing machine. Many thanks, and major appreciation.

I have made three pairs of these for my almost three year old grandson and he now refuses to wear anything but “Nanny pants”! I will soon start on his summer wardrobe of shorts and also make some for his cousin! Love this pattern!

Everybody said it, but, again, thank you so much for your tutorial ! I made of pair of these pants and 2 of shorts for my almost 2 years old boy, and it fits wonderfully. I chose to add eyelets on the flat fronts, so that I can adjust the size, and a reverse hem for the long legs. The ladies at the childcare said “woo, flared trousers !” :p . Maybe they’re true, my bad, with my reversed hem ^^; …

I made these pants for my 2 year old and although they fit okay we needed more room in the bottom for his diaper and more of a rise. I used the directions from this website and altered the pattern to get a perfect fit for my son. I think I used larger seem allowances because the pants fit my 27 lb 35 in 2 year perfectly with the extra diaper room. In the next pair I will use a 1/4 seem allowance.

I am enjoying these so much! I have not sewed in years and I have been looking around for a ‘hot weather pant’ to keep my boy cool and least mosquito bit. I shopped and did not have luck finding linen pants (under 50 bucks)…so I ran up against this! Now I am addicted to making pants! I did something fun, went shopping at a thrift shop and picked up some fun gaudy mens XL button up shirts, fits the pattern perfectly and instant pockets! And enough fabric left over to make a snappy matching bow tie. Thanks for this!

Hi Dana! Thanks for this pattern! I made a pair for my son, and they came out so cute! You inspired me to “improvise” a bit with patterns, and make them my own, so I taped the front piece to the back piece and made the pants from just two pieces of fabric. I used 2 fat quarters with Thomas on them, and sized down to a 24 months size. I had juuuuust enough fabric…. next time around, I’m going to perfect it by making it just a little wider at the waist, because my son usually uses cloth diapers and bigger would’ve been a little better. They came together quickly! Thanks bunches!!

Dana, This looks totally doable. No that we’re in summer and mosquito season I’m looking for linen pants for my tot. Buying them is just so cost-prohibitive, so thank you for this tutorial. I’m picking up fabric today and hope to have a pair for her by evening’s end. I’ll report back. Thanks, Roma

I’m wondering how to shorten the pants correctly since the waist is different for front vs back. Do you remove the same amount of inches from the bottom of the pattern? I’m wanting to make some in the pattern size and some for my daughter who’s in the 18 month area. I don’t want to cut any more fabric until I’ve figured out why the ones I’ve already cut are not matching up in length on the legs. My mother didn’t print in landscape the first time, but I think the pants should still be usable. Anyone else had that problem?

LOVE it 🙂 so simple … will be making some for my boys….by the way LOVE ur blog everything is awesome 🙂 I wanted to ask, I’ve noticed you have your own custom made labels, how could I make or order my own custom made labels?

I just made fleece PJs using this pattern for my 2 year old- very easy to follow tutorial, thank you! I’m looking forward to saving money on PJs this winter, and to having matching pajamas for my younger boy 😀

Love those tutorials. Going to make a pants for my little girl this week. And i’m sure that this tutorial(especially for the elastic) is going to help. But i think i have to update my English a little bit 😀

Hi there. Fantastic pants pattern and I love the variations especially the flat fronts version. Quick question my boy is a bit small for this pattern how would you increase the sizing for a 3-4 year old? Thanks so much.

Great tutorial! I made these for my daughter using the draft your own. The problem I had was even though they were not the right size, the fabric wouldn’t stretch with the elastic. What fabric do I need to get that will stretch? In order for her pants to be the right size there just isn’t enough gathered material in the waist for it to stretch. Other than that they are perfect.

These are wonderful and remind me of the pants I use to make when I was a teen, also. I haven’t increased in my sewing skills but we now have 22 kids in Kenya that the Lord gave us to feed and care for, and would like to make pants for the boys and we have the pattern for the girls and this is perfect for those little boys pants. If anyone can help me understand how to increase the size of the pants so I can put them on all the little ones and bigger ones, I’d appreciate it. Love to all. Thank you for this wonderful pattern and instructions. Kathy Angell

I’ve been looking at this pattern for 4 years thinking I should make those pants. But now my little buddy has seen his sister get a new skirt and he’s thinking I want one so he asks ‘mummy can I have a Dora skirt’ – bless. Well Star Wars pants instead will be waiting for him at breakfast. Thanks so much, x

Hi Dana I just felt like I just had to write to you and say thank you for such an amazing website and tutorial, it fills me with excitement as I plan my projects for my kids. I have just made only my second ever item on my new sewing machine starting with a drawstring bag and now a pair if pajama bottoms for my daughter. Your tutorial was so easy to follow and well written for the absolute beginner. I am so pleased with the pants and can’t wait to make more things. Sewing is something I always wanted to learn my mum was an excellent seamstress but passed away when I was younger from cancer before I had chance to ask her to teach me so it feels amazing to learn now with your easy tutorials. I feel closer to her somehow. Thanks Dana! Lots of love xx

Dana, Thanks for another great tutorial! I am hopeful that during naptime, I will be able to sew up a cute little pair of pajama bottoms for my daughter and at least start on tracing a pattern for my husband’s pajama bottoms! 🙂

Thanks so much for the tutorial! I made my first pair tonight. My son is 18 months old, but he has large hips and thights, so I use your pattern and shortened of the legs by 4 inches. It fit perfectly! 🙂

Thanks so much for the tutorial! I made my first pair tonight. My son is 18 months old, but he has large hips and thights, so I use your pattern and shortened the lenght the legs by 4 inches. It fit perfectly! 🙂

Thanks so much for the tutorial! I made my first pair tonight. My son is 18 months old, but he has large hips and thights, so I use your pattern and shortened the length the legs by 4 inches. It fit perfectly! 🙂

Thanks so much for the tutorial! I made my first pair tonight. My son is 18 months old, but he has large hips and thighs, so I use your pattern and shortened the length of the legs by 4 inches. It fit perfectly! 🙂

Love this pattern! So easy! I have only being sewing for about 12 months and find all your patterns and tutorials great! Im making a pair of these pants in flannel, chevron print, for my little girl at the moment, can’t wait to see the finished product 🙂

LOVE the look of these pants! I want to make my boys a pair each for Easter out of some cute bunny fabric I’ve found… Can you please tell me if I print at full size, how big the waist would be? I need a 50cm waist & a 55cm waist, so I’ll have to print the pattern 2 different sizes. Thanks!

you already have a million comments on this post.. and I’ve used this pattern personally SO many times.. but.. I just want wanted to let you know that I’ve put together a post called 20+ free sewing patterns for kids and this is part of it!! I’ve spread the word all around and I hope you will see some extra visits ;o) Emily http://nap-timecreations.com/2014/04/20-free-sewing-patterns-for-kids.html

please could you help me on how to size these for a 5-6 yr old? i know you have a make your own pattern tutorial but i need more direct instructions since he only has jeans that fit him and those would fit differntly than these. I would greatly appreciate the advice.

please could you help me on how to size these for a 5-6 yr old? i know you have a make your own pattern tutorial but i need more direct instructions since he only has jeans that fit him and those would fit differntly than these. I would greatly appreciate the advice.

please could you help me on how to size these for a 5-6 yr old? i know you have a make your own pattern tutorial but i need more direct instructions since he only has jeans that fit him and those would fit differntly than these. I would greatly appreciate the advice.

I love these! I had already bought the shorts pattern and oh my God – I love those too! I have 10 nieces and nephews, 2 boys of my own and my sister looks after 3 foster kids, all boys between 2 and 5yrs old – I am favourite Aunty right now 🙂

Do you have advice on the added length for the different sizes if I use the shorts pattern to turn into pants pattern for the different sizes?

LOVE your tutorials! If you made a pants pattern with a range of sizes like you did with the shorts — I would totally buy it! Somehow I failed to adapt the pants tutorial to by 5 yo son. Bummer! Bought the shorts pattern — made the most adorable racer shorts EVER.

Lovely pattern! And so easy. However they were too small for the child I was marking them for. How can I adjust the pattern to fit? I don’t have a pair of trousers in the size required to trace round, and even then they may not be the right shape. Any hints or tips?

I needed a cheap pair of trousers for my son for a VE day fancy dress party that we are going to. All vintage clothes are so expensive so I thought I would give it a go myself. I bought some cheap brown fabric and attempted it first with no pattern. . . Utter disaster, clearly I had no idea what I was doing. Was going to give up and then came across this tutorial and pattern. I have now made the trousers and they are just great! They fit my little boy perfectly and I cant wait to go out and buy some nicer material so that I can make him some more cool trousers! Many many thanks.

I love your blog! I made 2 pair of racer shorts for my son (he’s 7) and I’m so glad you have a tutorial for how to make your own pattern. He looks fantastic in them and I just made the cutest pair of shorter ones for my little girl! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

I love your blog (and Rae’s too). I really want to make these “quick” pants for my boy girl twins, but I’m having difficulty printing and assembling the “easy” pattern. It must be my Canon MX 850 printer settings, because the pdf looks perfect. When they print, the pages are shrunken, so the lines don’t go all the way to the bottom of the page, and the writing is backwards, like a mirror. I’m trying to use landscape and unclick the shrink to fit the page option. I’m spending more time than I’d wish trying to figure it out, so I’ll try to use a pair and make my own pattern. Thanks for all of your efforts, Dana. If anyone has hints on the printer issues, I’d love to hear the solution.

Hello Dana ! A big MERCI …. thank you from France where a brand new blue je an is born thanks to you and without any difficulty … even if I have my sewing machine only 2 days ago… Nino my son and the owner of the jean sends you a lot of kisses…thank you ! Your site is wonderful ,

Hi Dana!!! Thank you for all your guidance as I begin sewing!! I have one concern, or perhaps a novice question.. when sewing and pinning, are the pans inside out?? I can’t tell because of the pattern of the fabric. You make beautiful work!!

So I started this project today and I’m struggling. I have the fabric all cut out and have sewn the crotch seam. However I am lost at actually sewing the front to the back of the inseam thru the crotch to the other inseam. the crotch seams do not match up and to get them to match it then messes with the length of the the front fabric. What am I doing wrong?

AmandaRae, I just made these-faced the same question. Go ahead and match up the crotch seam, the top waistband will not line up-the front is cut to be lower. Probably allowing extra fabric at the back for bum coverage.

Sew the inseam first, then match up the outer seams (I started at the bottom of the pant leg). It’s counter intuitive but it does come together in the end.

I happened to have enough flannel to make a pair of these. My first functional clothing pieces (I HOPE). I don’t have my niece or her pants with me to measure so I did a little research and went with the average 3T waist measurement. Thanks for always having such concise instructions!

Thank you SO MUCH for this! I am going to try a pair of pants for my son. He is 18 years old, but autistic with cerebral palsy, so he has a lot of trouble with buttons and snaps. He is also very thin, so while the waist of a boys’ size 16 fits him well, the legs are always way too short. And adult elastic waist pants are both really hard to find, and incredibly expensive! I am soooo glad I found your site and your YouTube tutorials. You have demystified sewing, and taken the fear out of it for me. 🙂

Late to the game, but I made some waterproof rain pants with this fabric last night. I used some scraps of diaper PUL fabric I had and made each of the panels about and inch or so wider so it would go over his other pants. PUL is super forgiving as it does not fray. No ironing, however! Worked out great.

Just wanted to Thank YOU! so very much for the easy to follow pattern for these pants. I just finished a pair of sleep pants for my grandson using this pattern so so simple. They turned out so cute and will be making more for all of the grandkids for Christmas.

So I need to do anything special to prevent the elastic from twisting up in the wash? This happened on some bandana pants I made recently. But there casting was nowhere near this close. Does that help the elastic stay put?

That can happen sometimes…and when it does, you can usually twist it back in place. I do find that Braid elastic works best and is less like to roll up into a “tube” inside the waistband. Hope that helps! – Dana

Hi Dana. Just wanted to say thanks for the tutorial – I used it to make basic kid pants (my first ever sewing project) for my son, as part of a ninja outfit I made him for Halloween this year. Your instructions were really clear (even I could follow them, and I was a total dunce at sewing in school!) 🙂

Thank you! How kind of you to post a free printable pattern! Really looking forward to trying. My youngest son’s favorite pants are in tatters (his two older brothers wore them too – I made the pants in a sewing class, with a serger, and I’ve been looking for an easier, similar pattern).

Hello, could you advice which type of Seersucker fabric is recommended? I have tried search online for purchase; found most of the content are combined cotton + polyester. Found some 100% Cotton which their fabric reviews are not too good. Thank you.

Omg, I just my first garment, and it came put darn near perfect!! My son is skinny (waist 2T but 4T length) so it was clip on belts for him or have his pants fall off. He’s so psyched about his “first new pants” (goofy kid!). Thanks so much!!!

Hi, I am loving the pattern and its simplicity, however when I made them and put them on my 2 year old they seem very narrow and they are quite tight around is diaper. What would I have done wrong. I believe I was using a 3/8″ seam. Could I just cut the pattern wider to accommodate? Thanks for your help.

Hi Maggie, All 2 year olds are a little bit different sizes! Sure, you could definitely widen the pattern to tweak it for your child’s size. If you aren’t comfortable with that, I do have the multi-size pattern for the KID Shorts in my shop, which you could lengthen to make these pants. You can get it here: http://www.madeeveryday.com/product/kid-shorts/

Hello, really like your idea of sewing pants for boys. Mine is very tall and super skinny. I need pull on pants pattern for him. He is 6 years old (wears size up). Could you help me to get that pattern? How to make the pattern bigger, to fit 6 years old boy? Please help! We need school pants for him as well as fleece ones. Thanks!!!!

Quick question for anyone who has made this pattern. I managed to make these out of an old shirt from my husband and the cut is really nice. However, the trousers are sitting on my son’s hips rather than over his hips. Is this correct? When he bends over, you can see his underpants and then keep riding down. I used 1/2 inch elastic and surely this would be even worse with 1 inch elastic. Have I missed something? I want to make some shorts too and I am wondering if I should add an inch extra to the waist. Many thanks to anyone that has advice.

Hi Ruth, If the pants are riding too low, extend the top of the pattern up another inch, or so, depending on how much extra room you need. And yes, you could add more to the side seams as well if you want it to more roomy and less fitted. Hope that helps!

I just finished sewing the pants as rain pants in ripstop nylon. Still have the elastic at the bottom of the legs to go as soon as my son sends my grandson’s inseam measurement.And then spraying to make them waterproof. H is a total bean pole at 25 months. These pants that were called 2T-3T seem way too skinny. Guess we’ll find out Christmas Day! They took no time at all to sew even with double stitching all seams. Were seam allowances not included and I should have added a half inch around the pattern? (I sewed 1/4 seams)

Hi Susan, Seam allowances are included. The pattern does run on the skinnier side, but run true to retail shop sizes, like Target. Love the idea of adding elastic to the bottom of the pants! Sounds great!